


The Job

by suemarysue



Series: Snapshots [1]
Category: Captain Marvel (2019), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2020-08-14 01:47:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20184214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suemarysue/pseuds/suemarysue
Summary: “Carol,” Maria starts, slowly, carefully. “What do you usually do during the day?”Carol shares a look with Monica — What’s happening? — before looking back at Maria.





	The Job

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!

It’s Friday night, which is always good, but even better… it’s Movie Night.

Carol’s been home regularly for about a year and a half now, and back from her latest mission for about two months. The pattern seems to be three months off Earth, three months on it, and so forth, so it’s probably only a matter of time before her pager goes off again and she has to head back to space. But for now, for this summer, life is good. And especially because it’s Movie Night.

Monica, Maria and Carol are going to see Armageddon. Ordinarily, this is the kind of movie Monica would go see with friends. She’s 15 now, and they all haven’t gone to the movies together in almost a year. But Carol rolled her eyes so hard at the commercial for it and then Monica immediately proposed they see it together, much to Maria and Carol’s surprise. “How many people get to see this movie with two people who have _actually_ been to space?”

At Monica’s insistence, Carol picked up the tickets this morning and it was already almost sold out. Now she’s making burgers and a salad and Monica is working on her homework at the table, while they wait for Maria to come home. Monica’s in a summer science program, that, much to her disappointment, gives homework on weekends.

Maria’s been working late hours with SHIELD lately, but tonight she’s able to leave on time, and arrives just as dinner is almost ready. She drops a grocery bag on the counter, and her briefcase on an empty chair as she enters. She kisses Monica on the head and gives Carol a soft kiss on the mouth.

“Dinner’s almost ready and we’ve already got the tickets,” Carol says as she leans in for a second, longer kiss. 

“We just have to get there early so we don’t get stuck sitting in the front row,” Monica adds.

“Don’t worry.” Carol laughs. “I told you. We’ll get there in plenty of time.”

“You smell good,” Maria says, nuzzling into Carol’s hair.

“New shampoo. There was a sale, so I thought I’d try it. Looks like I made the right call.” Carol winks. “How was your day?”

“Oh it was fine, just paperwork,” Maria leans back on the sink behind Carol, and watches her make dinner. “Nothing too exciting.”  


Carol hums and nods, focused on the burgers.

“Carol,” Maria starts, slowly, carefully. “What do you usually do during the day?”

Carol turns to look quickly at Maria before shifting her focus back to the stove. “Been fixing up my car the past few weeks. She runs, but she’ll be a lot better when I’m done. And then hopefully I can get her repainted.”

“Yeah. And?” Maria crosses to the counter and dishes the salad onto three plates.

“Thanks. … And… anything we need done around here…. I fixed the shower today. I’ll clean the gutters tomorrow. I’m sure they’re in a bad state from all this rain.”

“And?” Maria puts the salad plates on the table and turns her eyes back to Carol.

Carol shares a look with Monica —_ What’s happening?_ — before looking back at Maria.

“She picks me up from my classes,” Monica adds, trying to help. “She’s always early, at the front of the pickup line.”

Maria is still fixed on Carol.

“Am I in trouble? Is this about the lawn? It’s been raining all week.”

“It’s not about the lawn.”

Carol flips the three burgers one last time and puts cheese on two. “I dunno. I do the grocery shopping. I read… books.”

Maria crosses her arms and sits down at the table.

“Mon,” Carol says. “Can you pour drinks, please?”

Carol brings three plates over to the table and sits. Monica puts three glasses of iced tea in front of them and sits as well.

After a moment — it’s not tense, but it’s not _not_ tense — Maria speaks. “I went by the supermarket on the way home today, to get some snacks for the movie, and you know that old woman we sometimes chat with in the park — Josephine?”

Carol, who had just decided to try to eat her cheeseburger, puts it down, eyes wide. Monica eats quietly, watching them both.

“She says,” Maria continues, “she says — that my _roommate._” Maria gestures at Carol. It may be an uncomfortable moment, but all three laugh at that. “She says that you’re the strongest woman she’s ever seen, and also so polite and so respectful. Couldn’t stop talking about the nice lady from the Air Force, and the … handy-woman business that you run.”

“I can explain.”

“And then a few of her friends came over too. Stories about the roof you fixed, bravely climbing up to the highest point. How you take them all grocery shopping. The impossible to move dresser you somehow got from the third floor down to the first floor.” Maria takes a long sip of her iced tea.

“Alright. I know you’re mad. It’s only been the past few weeks,” Carol says, quickly. “When I have time, and I still get everything done around here. I mean, except mowing the lawn this week, but —“

Maria starts to say something, pauses, then starts again. “Wait — I’m not — expecting anything from you around here. You can fix up your car, have this business, mow the lawn — or you can do absolutely nothing all day, if you want. You know that, right?”

“I know.… I know that. You’re just mad and I don’t really know…?” Carol starts to ask, trailing off.

“I’m not even mad — I’m just … confused … because you didn’t tell me about — whatever this is,” Maria says, as if she’s unsure how Carol couldn’t reach this conclusion herself. 

“Oh.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Carol doesn’t answer.

“And you wanted to keep yourself under the radar…. I don’t really see how this does that?”

Carol finally takes a bite of her food, and Maria does as well.

“It’s just doing odd jobs for people,” Carol says after a few moments. “Nothing that’s going to attract too much attention.”

Maria raises an eyebrow. “There were five women singing your praises to me a half hour ago.”

“I’m not lifting cars or anything.”

Monica makes a noise and Carol glares. “No one saw me lift it. They think I _pushed_ one car, one time. It was a small car, not very far…. people can push cars!”

Maria presses her palms to her face. “Forget why you didn’t tell me for a second — will you just tell me how this all started?”

Carol exhales. “A few weeks ago, I was leaving the supermarket. And you know Connie, who works at the library? She was struggling to put her groceries in the trunk of a taxi. The driver wouldn’t help her, and he was actually yelling at her to go faster. So, I told him to get lost, and I drove her home. After I brought everything inside, we realized her kitchen light was out, so I replaced the bulb before I left. She kept trying to give me money, but I wouldn’t take it.”

Maria reaches for Carol’s hand and pulls it to her mouth, kissing her palm. Carol looks up at her and smiles softly, relaxing.

“So, a few days later, I ran into Connie and she was with her daughter, Hannah. We got to talking, and Connie’d been telling her friends about me. They thought I could make a little business helping people out around town. I said I didn’t really feel right taking money from people, but Hannah said it was for things that people were already paying other guys to do. And those guys charge too much and do a bad job. So, I dunno. The next thing I knew Hannah was printing up business cards and helping me set up an answering service.”

Maria furrows her brow. “Does Hannah have a thing for you? Should I be worried?”

Carol coughs. “No, oh God. No. I’m not—”

Maria laughs and kisses her hand again. “I’m teasing.” Carol takes a deep breath.

“She has a business degree so she just helped me set things up because I didn’t know how to. And she helps me set the pricing. In exchange for me helping Connie.”

“OK. That all sounds great. Now, why didn’t you tell me?”

“It’s a secret.”

“A secret?”

A long pause. Carol looks down.

“I just want to make some money,” she says, quietly.

“Carol, we have money. It’s fine if you want to do this, but you don’t have to. You do so much when you’re not with us, you can rest when you’re here.”

“I want some of my own money, and money that’s not from… the accident.” The government never took back Carol’s life insurance payout, despite her not being dead, and that, along with Maria’s job, pays the bills for Carol, Maria and Monica.

“You planning a trip or something?” Maria asks, trying to sound light, but missing the mark.

Carol looks Maria straight in the eyes. “There’s something I want to buy. So I’ve got to save up.”

The moment hangs there, as neither break eye contact. If they looked at Monica, they’d see her struggle to contain her smile before hiding it behind her glass.

“OK, well….” Maria finally looks away, blinking a few times. She kisses Carol’s hand again before setting both their hands back on the table. “If you want to have this job, then I support you. It doesn’t matter why you have this job. I support you. Just… please, tell me things?”

Carol nods and pulls her seat closer. She rests their foreheads together. “I know. I will. I’m sorry.”

“So you drive all these old ladies around in your Mustang?” Maria asks, in an attempt to lighten the mood. They’ve pulled back from each other, a little, but are still quite close.

“They love it! Just wait until she can really fly. Jo even wants to learn how to drive stick.”

“Like you’d ever let anyone else drive that car.” Even _Maria _had only been allowed to drive it just a handful of times.

“Hey!” Monica jumps in. “You said I couldn’t learn on your car!”

“No one is learning on my Mustang.” Carol scoffs. “I’ll teach her on your mom’s car.”

“You do that and you can start sleeping in that Mustang.”

“You would _never_.” Carol kisses Maria.

“Uhhh,” Monica says after a moment, annoyed. “Can you two please stop kissing and finish dinner so we can get to the theater? I don’t want to be late!”

“We’re going to get there in plenty of time,” Carol says, again.

“Eat!!” Monica jumps up and puts her empty plate in the sink. 

“Teenagers,” Carol whispers Maria, who rolls her eyes in response. But, Carol stands up, takes one last bite of her meal, and starts cleaning up. 

“I tell you what,” Carol says, turning to Monica. “If we have to sit in the front row, I’ll teach you how to drive in my Mustang.”

“Really?”

“Yes, but you can’t make us late on purpose or anything. No cheating.”

“You got it.” Monica salutes. “I’m just gonna go get a sweater in case it’s cold!” She _runs_ up the stairs.

Maria picks up her plate and drops it in the sink. She presses the back of her hand to Carol’s forehead and gets gently swatted away.

“Just checking you don’t have a fever.”

“We’re not going to be late!” Carol picks up the car keys and heads out of the kitchen.

Maria puts the snacks in her purse and follows to the door. “I have one more question. …What do you do when someone has a piece of furniture that should take two people to lift?”

Monica leaps down the stairs. “I help!” She exclaims before Carol can stop her.

“Lieutenant.” Carol throws her hands in the air. “I’m in enough trouble for one day.” She looks at Maria. “It’s only been three or four times.”

Monica laughs. “You should see her pretending that she is struggling to lift things.” She grimaces and dramatically wipes her brow, imitating Carol.

Carol holds the door open and Monica darts outside. Maria shoots her a look before following her daughter.

“I know. Let’s just go and you can yell at me later.”

Five months later, Carol is back from her latest mission and teaching Monica how to drive in her Mustang.

She also has enough money to make the purchase she’d been saving for.


End file.
